Mania

Mania, or a manic episode, is defined by the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) as a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood lasting at least one week (or less if hospitalization is necessary) and consisting of three or more of the following (four if the mood is irritable only):

• inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
  
  
• decreased need for sleep (e.g., feeling rested after only 3 hours of sleep)
  
  
• more talkative than usual or feeling pressure to keep talking
  
  
• racing thoughts or thoughts that seem to jump from topic to topic
  
  
• distractibility (e.g., attention is easily drawn to unimportant details)
  
  
• increased goal-directed activity (either socially, at school or work, or sexually) or psychomotor agitation
  
  
• excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for negative consequences (e.g., going on buying sprees, foolish business investments, promiscuous sex).

These symptoms must be severe enough to significantly impair the individual's functioning in work, school, or social relationships (or must require hospitalization or include psychotic features) and must not be due to the effects of a substance or general medical condition to qualify as a manic episode.